GP horrrible to me ! :( re funding treatment?

lizzy100

Im really upset. my specialist in london had said to ask my gp if they could write a quick referal letter to him just to make it formal/down the right channels type thing. and I got a gp to ring me back as needed drugs he suggested too. and she was really horrible to me. said she wasnt refering me to london and that was the end of it!! really rudely. said that the NHS here would have to fund me going and any treatment i had there so shes not doing it. I dont think thats true because my specialist had never mentioned this, he had said he would get funding in london for me sorted. however they are refusing to treat me here anyway, and id finally found someone who was going to sort it and now they are blocking it. why is everything a uphill struggle???
Then she refused to prescribe me steroids which the specialist had suggested. said i would have to get him to write her a letter. i said id already started the steroids because hed said to but was running out so what was i meant to do if she wont give me anymore.? and she just said well id have to get him to do a letter quickly. WHY DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING?????!!!

kentishlady

Hi Lizzie. Am sorry you are coming up against a brick wall with yr GP. Do hope you can get things sorted out quickly. I am also having problems getting my gp to telephone me. I asked for her to call me on Monday of last week and am still waiting!! Keep being told she will ring but no luck. Have just phoned my surgery again and receptionist sd she will call me aftdr she has finished her surgery. Told receptionist I was sorry to keep pestering but if my dr had rung me back last week, I wouldn't need to. Think it's only the 2nd time I have ever asked if she could phone me. Which health authority do you come under?

Do hope you can get some progress soon. Beryl

MrOptimist

Lizzy, I would suggest writing a letter of compaint to your Practice Manager.
I'm pretty sure that the response to your request will be entirely different.
Good luck and let us know how things are progressing

lizzy100

Well it says here
http://www.nhs.uk/choiceintheNHS/Yourchoices/hospitalchoice/Pages/Choosingahospital.aspx
that patients have the right to choose which hospital they go to for treatment. however thats in england and i am english but i currently live in scotland, and cant find anything on if its the same in scotland. But i am moving back to england, which is why i went to london as im going to be down near there.
However she didnt need to be so rude to me and im really fed up with the way they all treat me. the other gp refused to ring rheummatology for me when i was in agony with arthritis. i just dont know whats wrong with them. but they arent going to take much notice if i write and complain about all of them are they?

dreamdaisy

Thiis is a tricky, one, isn't it? The English and Scottish systems differ on a number of fronts - the ones that spring to my mind are education, buying property and medical matters. In Scotland one is entitled to free prescriptions - how that may impact on other matters is not clear but why should your GP practice have to go 'across the border' on your behalf? The rudeness is inexcusable but maybe you are challenging her knowledge one step too far - in my experience very few professionals like that. When are you returning to England? That may be the better time to sort this out rather than trying to meld two different systems.

After sixteen years of my 'negotiating' between orthopaedics, rheumatology and my current GPs, I know that if the PsA is troubling me then rheumatology is the one to contact, if the OA is being a nuisance then I ring my GP. Do you have a rheumatology helpine? I had to ring mine today with something about which the GP would be relatively 'clueless'. To use an analogy related to my work I tutor those who struggle with literacy - I'd be rubbish at coaching maths.

You can complain by all means but on what grounds? Do you have actual proof of her rudeness - e.g. a recording? If it's your word against hers then that makes it more uncertain. Dealing with these things is exasperating and frustrating, and yes, it can seem as though we are the ones doing all the work. It's not easy. DD

toady

lizzy that sounds awful! and after you had the initiative and persistence to go & find someone better than your current setup, this is all the encouragement you get. It's exactly as you say; why should you have to chase & pester & argue for stuff, when the whole point is, that you don't feel well enough for this sort of extra hassle. When are you hoping to move? Not right now I assume but will it be soon? In the meantime I hope you come up with a way round things (I suppose your specialist can't hassle your gp for you?)

Beryl, sorry you are still waiting for your call. :roll:

lizzy100

im going all the way across the border for it, because noone here knows anything about it and noone here will treat me! i was told by my specialist here to go down south and find someone because they dont know enough about it here and hopefully docs there will no more! thats what they said to me! Plus im going to be living down there so wanted to get things in place. If they cant treat me here i need to go somewhere where someone knows about it.
And i wasnt questioning her knowledge. I simply asked if she could refer me and when she started having a go at me i said i was only asking because the specialist had asked me to ask her to refer me.

im moving in june beryl, cant wait to get out of here.

villier

Lizzy as itis the wee small hours I have probably read your post wrong, who was it that referred you to the specialist in London in the first place? I live in Scotland and was seeing a neurologist who had a suspicion that I had a very rare condition, to confirm this he sent me to see a professor in London who did specialist testing and confirmed what my neurologist thought, myself and a friend were flown to London which was paid for by the NHS as was all other travelling expenses, my GP was not involved in this at all, my neuro requested for my GP to put me on steroids and I got them no problem, I know you said you will be moving down south but meantime if I was you I would get another GP until you move, hope you get it sorted out soon...........tc............Marie xx

salamander

It's a difficult one but if you are moving in June and you can get the prescription for your meds, what's the urgency?

I do believe GPs can refuse to refer if they believe you can get the same treatment in their area (though I note your comments about not getting the right treatment) and I'm not sure they are obliged to refer to a specific consultant, just a department. That's not to say they can't but there isn't an obligation to do so. In addition, the costs do come out of their budget, not from the budget of the hospital you are seeing. Otherwise London health services would be bankrupt, if they aren't already. So she has grounds for refusing.

I can completely understand looking to see the best specialist you can but I sit in my (London) out-patient's clinic time and time again where patients are upset about missing their trains back to Wales or Brighton or where-ever because the clinic is running late (which it invariably does!) because they've pre-booked their tickets cheaply three months before. Also, and I know this doesn't apply to you if you are moving, if you get into trouble your consultant is not on your doorstep. I visit my out-patient's department about 6 times a year between nurse and consultant appts and in-between if things go wrong. Not easy when you are miles away, especially if your joints are bad. Additionally, why should the NHS pay transport fares if there is treatment available locally? I can understand when one has a rare condition and has to travel to see a specialist but not for everything.

In your shoes I would wait until I had moved and ask your new gp to refer you.

dreamdaisy

You mention a specialist - what is their specialist health area? Auto-immune arthritis or something else? June is not that far away and surely things will be easier for you to organise once you're down south. Make sure you find out about the prepayment certificate for prescriptions (unless you are exempt for one of the stated reasons you will need one). DD

hileena111

Hi Lizzie
I'm sorry you are having to fight so hard.
My consultant {in Northumberland} wrote to my GP and asked her to refer me to a pain clinic. I live in Northumberland and GP is in Northumberland.
After trying to talk me out of going and saying they were no good. She gave me a choice of 3 hospitals....in Tyne and Wear {next County} I asked why not Northumberland and she said those were the only ones she could send me to ........take my choice :shock: I chose the nearest one. Got there and he said you realise that you can only get 50% of our services because you live in Northumberland????? The 50% would be an injection in my back and writing to my GP about different pain relief and that was it!!!
When I did eventually get referred to a Northumberland one I was offered ...TENS, Pain management courses, injections, acupuncture, etc etc
BUT LIKE YOU SAY WHY DO WE HAVE TO FIGHT FOR EVERYTHING!!!!!
Good luck
Love
Hileena

maria09

Hi
I think the way your GP has treat you is dreadful I agree you should contact the practice manager and complain
Am I right that in Scotland like Wales there is no prescription charge? Maybe that's a reason the GP won't agree to treatment and steroids?
Did not the GP swear an Hippocratic oath to do no harm? Isn't withholding steroids classed as harm?
I'm lucky I live in Leeds and have my orthopaedic and rheumatology consultants in Harrogate where I used to work and my GPs have no issues with my treatments and medications prescribed by a different health authority
I also wonder why a consultant in London has been recommended when surely there must be one closer
I hope you can get the treatment you need to make your condition improve
Best wishes
Maria

tkachev

That is unfair considering your specialist asked you to contact your GP. You were only doing as advised. If your GP has a problem about it she should have a go at the specialist and not you.

I hope you get an apology.

Elizabeth

lizzy100

thanks, i dont even want to go back there, im so upset by it all. i feel like having a go at them but i know i wont get anywhere, they dont care that im in agony they dont do anything.
im meant to have bloods done every week. i told her my specialist had increased my methotrexate, just to let her know, and she was like well we have no knowledge of that. so she never said anything about bloods and doesnt want to know. o well just have to hope for the best then.

maria09

Oh Lizzy
That's dreadful is there another GP practice you can try also does your hospital have blood taking clinics my minds gone a blank can't for the life of me remember the proper main for it! Mine does so. They can take your bloods regularly
I just don't get your GP is he/she old and past it or just plain nasty?
Check on line how and who to complain to as this is so unfair
At min I'm on monthly bloods for methotrexate and my daughter is on weekly bloods and my practice can't be any more helpful in fact we have a double appointment for bloods taking tomorrow
Your GP has a duty of care and to me is failing miserably its bad enough having our conditions without an evil GP to add to your stresses
Please contact the helpline team the number is free I think I'm sure they will be able to offer you help and support
Try and keep strong
Maria

dreamdaisy

My GPs don't know about the humira and meth I take because they are prescribed by the hospital and not them. The GP Practice Manager will not add them to my notes because of this and this means that I now have to request a 'flu jab because I no longer meet the GPs criteria for an automatic appointment. Neither will my GP prescribe steroids without the hospital's permission. Irksome? Yes. Is it beyond me to deal with these things and sort them out? No. You say you are meant to have your bloods done every week - are you making the appointments and keeping them? The monitoring is important - I had years of fortnightly bloods and it was my job to ensure they were done.

We, as patients, are similar to maypoles: all those involved with us have their separate ribbons which they weave around us but those 'ribbons' don't necessarily complement each other - we have to keep the pattern going. We are also responsible for managing our care - after all we are the ones who know us best. DD

Starburst

dreamdaisy wrote:

My GPs don't know about the humira and meth I take because they are prescribed by the hospital and not them. The GP Practice Manager will not add them to my notes because of this and this means that I now have to request a 'flu jab because I no longer meet the GPs criteria for an automatic appointment. Neither will my GP prescribe steroids without the hospital's permission. Irksome? Yes. Is it beyond me to deal with these things and sort them out? No. You say you are meant to have your bloods done every week - are you making the appointments and keeping them? The monitoring is important - I had years of fortnightly bloods and it was my job to ensure they were done.

We, as patients, are similar to maypoles: all those involved with us have their separate ribbons which they weave around us but those 'ribbons' don't necessarily complement each other - we have to keep the pattern going. We are also responsible for managing our care - after all we are the ones who know us best. DD

I wanted to quote DD because she is wise and said what I would have liked to have said but much more eloquently. It is difficult but we are the experts of our own condition and have to advocate for our own needs. Despite that, your GP sounded very harsh and a bit lacking on the old empathy supplies.

You know where we are. x

maria09

Hi
My goodness I didn't realise I had such a good GP practice
Half the time I don't even have to see them just leave them a little note in the prescription box letting them know any changes to mine or my daughters medication
I wish you all could have caring GP practices like mine I'm even on first name terms with the receptionists as I'm there that much
Please all take good care of yourselves
Maria

lizzy100

dont talk to me about being charge of our own care. i have done EVERYTHING. they have done nothing to help me out at all. when the specialists have refused to treat me because they dont know what to do, i have had to contact new people and find someone who knows about it. i have to contact my specialists the whole time. this other gp refused to ring my rheummatologist when i went to see her in agony with my arthritis!. they cant just refuse to treat people. of course i was making all my appts and going to them. but they had decreased as id been on my dose longer. and now theyv increased it again, but theyr saying they have no knowledge of it being increased. so i had to ring the specialist again! and ask them to write a letter.

thanks guys i just need a bit of support, not to be critiscised.
Im not aware of any blood taking centre and because i dont see a rheummatologist i suppose there isnt. yea it is a patient right to be treated and they dont care that im in pain and do nothing.

salamander

My gp is rubbish with the arthritis stuff too. Hang on in there until you move and you can get your referral sorted out with your new gp.

cheekygirl

oh my god cant believe how awful you have been treated by your own gp .tut tut .please let us know how you get on .i don,t want to sound awful but my gp and the surgery can never do enough for me always ringing me ,but my consultant ggrrr .is rude .doesnt listen ,and is patronizing . we just need consideration .and a little understanding don,t we .you write a letter of complains just be polite but get you point across .please just take care a and look after yourself .kind regards xx jules

dreamdaisy

Blood tests can be done either at a GPs surgery by appointment or a hospital pathology lab (that's where I go to get mine done because it's walk-in and closer). They only become a matter of routine once you are on DMARDs - are you taking any? (I confess I cannot remember if you are currently on any arthritis medication, I apologise.) What pain relief are you taking? It may be time for that to be reviewed.

I for one am becoming rather confused by your situation. We are not criticising, far from it, we are trying to help with telling you our experiences, thoughts and views. I wish you well and I hope that once you have moved things improve. DD

GAlvey

Hi Lizzie

GPs seem to be out of their depth with the less common types of arthritis and some consultants too. I have been all round the houses with consultants and at one point my GP was telling me to go back to work with two obviously very swollen knees and nearly unable to walk (I would love to be able to do both) (and ulcerative colitis going mad...umm gp missing something here??). In the end I spoke to the practice manager and went to another GP in the practice and started talking about medical negligence, which it was. I also said that the forum here was littered with people like me struggling for a right diagnosis and medication.
She referred me to another consultant in Newcastle.

Surely in the 21st century people shouldn't have to be put through all this? It has been an emotional and physical torment. But to practicalities, when I was setting up the Newcastle appointment the secretary told me that they get people from all over including Scotland, so some Scottish gps must allow this.

keep at it Lizzy: you have been great encouraging me so far. Will let you know how Newcastle goes. Let me know how you get on and don't stand for any nonsense.

Starburst

Also not criticising, only wanting to help. :!: A couple of us were just saying that unfortunately we do often have to be the ones to do everything. Although, as I said, your GP sounds spectactularly rubbbish. Where abouts in London are you? I'm at a great rheumatology clinic just outside of London which I highly recommend.